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| Fig. 1: Photograph of the Mojave Solar Project parabolic technology (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
As the population of the United States, and the rest of the world, increases yearly, the energy demand of this growing population is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Recently, as the United States has seen its use of fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy sources wane, it has explored the possibility of using renewable energy sources to power it into a greener, more sustainable future. [1] Accordingly, the United States has leaned heavily into research and development efforts for renewable sources. More specifically, solar energy has been of particular interest for renewable energy efforts. Each hour, the Earth receives enough energy from the Sun to power the entire world for over a year; as a result, harnessing this renewable energy using photovoltaics has been a goal for numerous years. [2]
Despite the large volume of solar energy emitted from the Sun, capturing and converting this solar energy into consistent usable energy has been a recurring challenge. Furthermore, due to the geography and meteorology of the Earth, some locations are predisposed to higher degrees of solar irradiance than others; making some locations more profitable options. One of these locations is the Mojave Desert, which spans the southern regions of both California and Nevada. The Mojave Desert is among the hottest and driest locations in the world, and is second in the world when it comes to incident solar radiation. [3] As a result, it has become a location of interest for exploring the viability of large scale solar projects.
For these reasons and others industrial solar construction has begun in the Mojave Desert. One notable example of a successful Mojave-based solar plant is The Mojave Solar Project, built by Abengoa, a renewable energy construction company.
In August 2009, Abengoa filed a proposal detailing their vision for The Mojave Solar Project, a modern solar plant that leveraged new solar technology to maximize energy output in the Mojave Desert. Later that year in October 2009, the California Energy Commission began review of The Mojave Solar Project. Upon later approval, construction on the Mojave Solar Project began towards the end of 2010. The Mojave Solar Project is projected to have an operational duration spanning multiple decades, providing electricity to over 70,000 homes for 30-40 years. [4] Despite Abengoa's initial success and foresight into a solar future, their over-optimistic view of solar profitability eventually led to their demise in 2015 when they filed for insolvency. [5]
The Mojave Solar Project is one of many solar plants in the Mojave Desert. It is a 280 MW solar plant that harnesses parabolic trough technology to drive solar energy production. [6] (See Fig. 1.) It is composed of two primary solar plants, Mojave Alpha (140 MW) and Mojave Beta (140 MW) which work to harness solar energy on approximately 780,000 m2 of land. [6] The Mojave Solar Project is estimated to produce at least 520 GWh per year, or [7]
| 520 GWh y-1 × 3.6 × 1012 J GWh-1 | = | 1.872 × 1015 Joules y-1 |
Although this is not a representation of the success one can expect from all solar plants in the Mojave Desert, certain projects within the Mojave Desert, namely the Mojave Solar Project can serve as a benchmark for future projects.
Although Mojave-based solar plants are a positive step in securing a more sustainable future by producing large volumes of renewable energy, they also come with disadvantages, notably environmental degradation and pollution. For example, Devitt et al. have argued that as we transition to a more solar-dependent future, high densities of solar plants in the Mojave Desert can lead to rapid habitat fragmentation and subsequent environmental deterioration. [1]
© Justin Shen. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] D. A. Devitt et al., "Assessing the Impact of a Utility Scale Solar Photovoltaic Facility on a Down Dradient Mojave Desert Ecosystem," Land 11, 1315 (2022).
[2] S. Tabassum et al., "Solar Energy in the United States: Development, Challenges and Future Prospects," Energies 14, 8142 (2021).
[3] C. I. Smith et al., "Dust Storms Ahead: Climate Change, Green Energy Development and Endangered Species in the Mojave Desert," Biol. Conserv. 277, 109819 (2023).
[4] "Abengoa Mojave Solar Project: Commission Decision," California Energy Commission, CEC-800-2010-008-CMF, September 2010.
[5] E. Segu-Mas, H.-M. Bollas-Araya, and F. Polo-Garrido, "Assurance on Corporate Governance Reports in Spain: Towards an Enhanced Accountability or a New Form of Public Relations?" Adm. Sci. 8, No. 3, 32 (2018).
[6] A. J. Gallego et al., "Mathematical Modeling of the Mojave Solar Plants," Energies 12, 4197 (2019).
[7] S. Ong et al., "Land-Use Requirements for Solar Power Plants in the United States," U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL/TP-6A20-56290, June 2013.
